Toxic sludge almost the size of Gulf Oil spill

THE mighty Danube was apparently absorbing Hungary’s massive toxic red sludge spill with little immediate harm, officials reported yesterday – even though the amount of caustic slurry spewed over the western part of the country was nearly as great as the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Revising even higher than earlier estimates, government officials said the reservoir break at an alumina plant on Monday dumped 600,000 to 700,000 cubic metres of sludge onto three villages – not much less in a few hours than the 200 million gallons the blown-out BP oil well gushed into the Gulf over several months starting in April.

“The consequences do not seem to be that dramatic,” said Philip Weller, who heads the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube, when asked about harm to the waterway’s ecosystem up to now.